UNDER-FIRE referee Grant Hegley defended his two controversial decisions following Reading's 2-1 victory over Sheffield United on Saturday.

The Hertfordshire official only showed United keeper Paddy Kenny a yellow card when he handled team-mate Nick Montgomery's back-header outside the box.

And he waved away appeals for what looked like a blatant penalty 10 minutes from time when James Harper impeded Sheffield United substitute Keith Gillespie in the box.

Harper later admitted it should have been a penalty and Hegley's refusal to give a spot-kick infuriated United boss Neil Warnock, who is a qualified referee.

The Blades chief, along with Gillespie, now face disciplinary action after the pair confronted Hegley after the final whistle.

To Hegley's credit, though, he faced the media to explain his decisions. He said: "I did not give a red card because I did not believe it was a clear goalscoring opportunity due to the number of defenders who were covering.

"Just because the keeper handles outside the area does not mean that it was a goalscoring opportunity and I believe that was the case in this instance."

Hegley also defended his refusal to give a spot kick, adding: "I believe Keith Gillespie knocked the ball 10 yards ahead of himself and then his momentum took him into the Reading player, rather than Harper having fouled him."

Meanwhile Southampton's Darren Powell has been charged with violent conduct by the FA following his punch at Kevin Doyle in Reading's goalless draw at St Mary's last Wednesday.

The one-time Royals target has until 6pm today to admit or deny the charge. He is likely to accept the charges and get a three-match ban.

A disciplinary commission will hear the case tomorrow.

Doyle was left needing a splinter in a front tooth and also suffered a badly swollen lip.

Manager Steve Coppell refused to talk about the incident directly after the game and insisted he never saw it.

Graham Poll, who was in charge of the match, did not see the incident, but apparently one of the officials did.

The fact that it was spotted by one of the officials was noted by the match assessor in his report and a video of the match was requested by the FA's compliance department.